“According to the information provided to the Embassy by the Austrian authorities, the festival “Austria goes Zrće” held in Novalja is likely the cause of the spread of coronavirus infection among the participants in that event. As of today, 250 festival visitors have tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Austria.”
This is the answer from the Austrian Embassy in Zagreb to Novi List‘s question about how the Austrian media pointed out that in Croatia, at the festival in Novalja from 17 to 24 July, as many as 94 Austrians became infected with the coronavirus.
This caused a great deal of shock, and the competent services in Novalja reacted immediately to refute everything. According to their medically-based data, not a single Austrian left Novalja infected. Moreover, in Novalja, there are secured accommodation facilities in which all infected, if they wish, can spend an epidemiologically defined period before returning to their countries healthy.
The Austrian embassy wisely emphasizes the category of “probable,” which, of course, gives the story a different light. Therefore, there is no definite claim because in Novalja, as in all other Croatian tourist centers, rigorous measures of testing and protection of tourists are implemented. After all, stringent police measures are in place to control the implementation of prominent epidemiological measures.
Given the seriousness of the situation and the severity of the claim, inquiries about the implementation of measures to clarify the situation were sent from Novi List to the Croatian Embassy in Austria, which in turn redirected them to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Still, neither they nor the Ministry of Interior responded to Novi List.
More than 19,000 people came to the festival from Austria, most of them in their own cars or buses, according to Austrian media.
Judging by the statement of the Austrian embassy, they diplomatically distanced themselves from the categorical claims of the Austrian media, claiming that the festival was a ‘probable cause’.
The Novalja Civil Protection Headquarters and the local Tourist Board on Thursday refuted the articles according to which the “Austria goes Zrce” Festival was a breeding ground for at least 94 Austrians suffering from Covid-19. They pointed out then that there were 12 coronavirus positives in their quarantine and that there were no Austrians among them.
The head of the Novalja headquarters, Ivan Peranić, sharply denied the reports that there were 19,000 Austrian tourists at the festival and that there was a mass infection among them. He pointed out that in a week, from July 17 to 24, 12,151 tests were performed. Some people, he added, have been tested several times. 16 coronavirus positives were detected, but none of them were from Austria.
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